Star Trek franchise hails JJ Abrams as its new captain

It has not yet been cast, but it’s been announced that JJ Abrams, the director of Lost and Mission: Impossible III, has been handed the Star Trek franchise and will make the 11th—yes, 11th!—film in the series. It’s a prequel, showing how Spock and Kirk met in space school or wherever they studied. I don’t think in their current conditions that Leonard Nimoy or William Shatner could reprise their roles as their young selves. Plus, they’re too busy hawking Aleve and Priceline. Let’s hope Abrams can turn this ship around. According to The Guardian, which says Abrams “boldly goes where 10 films have gone before,” the Enterprise's previous outing, 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, grossed $43 million, lower than any other film in the series. If Abrams wants women in the audience, I suggest more of Patrick Stewart.

—Posted by Celeste Ward

Published on April 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (6)

And now ... the Hip Hop Gaming League

We began the week musing about the rise of professional gaming leagues, and we’ll close it on that note as well. You may have noticed that Snoop Dogg has been named commissioner of the Hip Hop Gaming League, which is launching in partnership with MTV. Players were selected, according to a press release from MTV yesterday, for their “video game skills and for their prominence in the hip-hop community.” Snoop said, “How ’bout dat, ya dig?” An MTV exec, Salli Frattini, said: “Working with the HHGL allows us to present some of our audience’s passions across MTV’s multiple platforms by bringing together some of the biggest names in hip-hop to test their competitive skills on some of their favorite video games.”

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Lance Armstrong set to take on N.Y. marathon

Celebrity marathon runners have been a staple since Oprah Winfrey gritted her way through the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., in 1994. Oprah’s feat, celebrated on her show, is credited by some with helping to produce a second running boom that’s seen marathons swell with participants. Everyone from Will Ferrell (Boston, 2003) to George W. Bush (Houston, 1993) to P. Diddy (New York, 2002) has helped add a little celeb glamour to market marathons to the masses. Now, the ING New York City Marathon is getting a different kind of celebrity runner: the kind with a heart 1.5 times the size of the average human. Lance Armstrong told the Associated Press this week that he’d run this fall’s race. How will Lance do? Letsrun.com unearthed a small 5K race Lance ran recently in Texas, where he finished eighth with a respectable time of 18:20. Taking into account the longer distance, the 5K pace would work out to Lance running a 2:58 marathon. Somehow I doubt the seven-time winner of the Tour de France would dig getting beat by 450-plus people, based on last year’s NYC Marathon results. In any case, he’s sure to beat Oprah’s 4:29, Diddy’s 4:14, Ferrell’s 4:02 and Bush’s 3:44. His stiffest competition might be his ex-wife, Kristin Armstrong, a Runner’s World writer, who clocked 3:45 in last year’s NYC marathon.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Photo Credit: Zach Lipp/AdMedia/Sipa Press

Published on April 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Morrissey

Philips to blogs: Let's get this straight

It seems we, and much of the rest of the world, were somewhat misinformed over the news that Philips’ had created a new technology that wouldn’t allow people to skip TV commercials as was widely reported earlier this week. Now Philips is posting a message throughout the blogosphere, including our original post, to clarify its position. Here’s the bulk of what it said: “Inventors from Royal Philips Electronics (Philips) filed a patent application, as yet not granted, that enables watching a television movie without advertising. However, some people do want to see the ads. So, we developed a system where the viewer can choose, at the beginning of a movie, to either watch the movie without ads, or watch the movie with ads. It is up to the viewer to take this decision, and up to the broadcaster to offer the various services. Philips never had the intention to force viewers to watch ads against their will and does not use this technology in any current Philips products, nor do we have any plans to do so.” Looks like we can all calm down now.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Never-before-seen images of Lee Clow and David Lubars

Yesterday, we wrote about some weird auctions going on at eBay for the URLs alexbogusky.com, davidlubars.com and leeclow.com. Not to belabor the seller, Ad Scribe's, strange obsession with URLs of agency creative chiefs (though I suspect this is all part of some stealth effort, maybe to do with an awards show?), but the visuals accompanying the auctions for Clow and Lubars are worth sharing: above, the Lubars bobblehead doll, and at right the piece of toast containing the visage of Lee Clow. Sadly, none of these actual items are for sale, if they exist at all. Maybe that helps explain why, to date, no one has placed a bid. (If you missed the Alex Bogusky commemmorative plate, it's further down the page.)

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Keep the cameras off the Delta employees

As SS+K prepares to replace Ogilvy & Mather as Delta Air Lines’ creative agency, the agency should maybe think twice about continuing to feature Delta employees in the advertising. That’s because Delta is now asking those employees to clean its airlines for free—at night, on their own time, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Oh, they’ll get a few token rewards: free T-shirts, reward points good for merchandise, a chance to show their pride in the airline, maybe a bag of peanuts or two. But they may also get sick of pulling unpaid four- and eight-hour shifts to (in the words of a Delta rep) “scrape stuff from tray tables and floors … if there’s gum on the floor.” Other volunteers will clean the bathrooms (where pride becomes that much harder to maintain). According to the Times story, employees at the Tampa airport rolled their eyes when a Delta supervisor told them about the program. Better find some actors for that next campaign.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Miller likes look of Instant Cool Can

New Tech Spy is reporting on an emerging beer-can technology that would chill a warm can by 30 degrees Fahrenheit in as little as three minutes. This sounds great for anyone who can afford to pay a significant premium for a snazzy, high-tech can of beer but can’t afford to maintain a fridge—or even buy a styrofoam cooler and some ice. “The convenience factor and bragging rights would make this a must-have item,” New Tech Spy argues. Bragging rights would be a consideration for Miller and Bud—and it’s ... Miller who has stepped forward and pledged to use the Instant Cool Can technology, according to the story.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3)

eBay auction promises Bogusky's head on a platter

Settle down, Bogusky haters. An eBay auction for what appears to be Alex Bogusky's head on a platter is not an offer to strike down the shaggy-haired creative prince. In fact, even the lovingly constructed commemorative platter featuring both a brooding, godlike Bogusky and laid-back, sensitive, guitar-playing Bogusky seems to be a sham. It appears that a seller calling him/herself Ad Scribe is selling the domain name AlexBogusky.com— perfect for "a BK blog," "DIY tips on building shelves for all those damn awards" or "Hair tips," according to the listing. But Bogusky isn't the only ad-guy domain that's up for grabs. Ad Scribe also has listed DavidLubars.com, commemorated as a bobblehead doll, and LeeClow.com, illustrated with a piece of toast burnt with the likeness of Clow himself. Says Ad Scribe of the toast, which he/she claims to have promptly eaten: "Just last year, some casino paid $28K for a piece of toast with the image of Mary, Mother of Jesus. Now I'm not comparing Lee to Mary … but I'm guessing Lee has a better reel." There are nine days left to bid on the items, which boast a rather ambitious $100 reserve. Any takers?

—Posted Deanna Zammit

Published on April 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (7)

AWNY, ‘Maxim’ make strange bedfellows

Did it seem odd to anyone else that last night’s Good, Bad & Ugly Awards show was sponsored by Maxim? The Advertising Women of New York, which hosted the event, not surprisingly handed Grand Uglies to the infamous Carl’s Jr. ad with a soaped-up Paris Hilton washing a Bentley and to a “buns and puns” effort for Milwaukee’s Best. Now, I’m happy to shove aside the pretense that I’m a good little feminist. (After all, I find the supposedly “sexist” Axe ads just plain funny, while Leo Burnett’s “Have a happy period” affirmations for Always are just insulting.) But ladies, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t tell Tabasco it’s wrong to showcase a bikini-clad hottie and then turn around and have your cocktail tables littered with May issues of Maxim. This month’s cover girl is Sopranos actress Jamie Lynn Sigler, in case you’re interested. If you want to stand for something, don’t take Maxim’s money, don’t give its staff a table right up front, and don’t think making editor John DeVore play the heavy in a mock interview sweeps it under the rug. After all, if you’re into sweeping, take his advice to “have a beer and lighten up.” And while you’re at it, you might as well make him a sandwich.

—Posted by Deanna Zammit

Published on April 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Pink Panther launches energy blog

Speaking of marketing efforts tied to environmentalism, the Pink Panther has now launched a blog, sponsored by Owens-Corning, to herald the imminent arrival of Earth Day. OK, a blog from a cartoon character may be another sign—in case you needed one—that blogging long ago jumped the shark, but at least this one has a reason for being (or in this context, let’s change that to raison d’etre). The blog’s focus is on saving energy which is an easier topic for an insulation company to discuss, then, say, an oil company. We also liked the headline on the press release: “The Pink Panther Doesn't Talk But He Can Type—Who Knew?”.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two great sports that taste great together

Chess isn’t much of a spectator sport … until you combine it with boxing. Yes, George Parker over at AdHurl has found the Web site of the World Chess Boxing Organization, the governing body of chessboxing, the brutal bloodsport in which combatants take turns whaling on each other physically and mentally. As George puts it, “Knight to King’s Bishop 4. Or if you prefer, a bunch of fives up your nose!!!” This sport was made for ESPN2. The sponsors would come running. The whole thing also reminds me of that great old Saturday Night Live skit with Jim Belushi as the Bobby Knight of the high-school chess world.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Philips’ really dumb idea

One story that seems to have gotten a lot of pickup in the last 24 hours is the news that Philips has developed a technology that would somehow prevent channel-switching or fast-forwarding during commercials. I’ll dispense with a lengthy description of how the technology works, but have you ever heard such a cockamamie idea? The only way this would work, practically speaking, is for there to be some incentive for consumers to actually watch, and even then it flies in the face of the reality that the consumer is in control. Maybe the people at Philips didn’t get the memo? Still, as a social experiment, it would be fun to see how people would react. Probably by throwing their remotes at the TV. UPDATE: As this story was widely reported, Philips has sent a statement to us and other news outlets to clarify what the technology is really all about. You can read it by either clicking on comments below, or checking out our full, updated post.

 —Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (10)

Ford Escape climbs 4-story rock wall

Flickr user Spitzgogo snapped this photo in Taipei City of what appears to be a very curious billboard indeed: a four-story-high wall/ad for the Ford Escape. I have a nagging feeling that Jeep did something like this recently, too, but all I can find is Adland’s story about the Jeep that climbed up the side of Penn Plaza.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The perfect TV spot for Kiss fragrances

It’s not really our place to tell Avrett Free Ginsberg how to promote the fall launch of Gemini Cosmetics’ fragrance line inspired by the rock band Kiss. (The scents are “inspired” by Kiss. Consider that for a moment. OK, let’s move on.) Still, we’re hoping for some live footage featuring the group’s hyperbolic pitchman—er, frontman—Paul Stanley. As all card-carrying members of the Kiss Army know, the high point of most Kiss concerts (apart from that pungent smoke wafting through the hockey arena) is Stanley’s bombastic Long Island-accented stage banter. Many play Kiss Alive I and II just to savor clichéd but heartfelt quips such as “You’re hot tonight, [name of your town here]!” Anyway, we envision a Kiss fragrance spot going something like this: The band finishes a song, crowd goes wild, lights come up, and Paul saunters to the mike. PAUL: “Oh my gawwd, you are HOT to-night!” He wipes perspiration from his face, fans himself with his hand. “You’re so hot ... and SWEATY ... and man, do you smell BAD! You stink worse than any other city on this tour! Am I right, Cleve-laaand?!” Pan confused, chagrined faces. One guy with a “Destroyer” T-Shirt sniffs his armpits and hangs his head. PAUL: “But thasss alright! Thasss cool!” He takes some Kiss body spray from his pocket, gives himself a quick spritz, aims the nozzle at the crowd and douses the front row. “Oooh, ye-aaaah! Available at fine department stores in cities like ... Cleve-laaand! Wooo-hooo!” The crowd erupts once more. Paul winks knowingly at Gene Simmons. “Now, let’s rock and roll all night ... and par-ty ev-er-y day!” It writes itself. Just like the band’s songs.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on April 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another reason to be wary of the treadmill

With the weather warming up, this is the time of year when women start exercising in hopes of looking reasonably svelte in a bathing suit. Alas, a University of Michigan study suggests they won’t spend as much time exercising as women who work out for reasons unrelated to weight loss. Women who exercise for a “body shape motive” spend 40 percent less time at it than women who exercise for other reasons—for instance, because they actually enjoy exercising. One problem is that women who exercise to lose weight “may select physical activities based on how many calories they burn, rather than on how much they will like doing that activity—a recipe for eventually quitting.” Or, to put the matter another way, it’s an exercise in futility.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Published on April 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Happy Arbor Day from Virgin Mobile

It's becoming increasingly de rigueur to emphasize the environmental friendliness of brands, so with that in mind, here's a new campaign from Virgin Mobile featuring anthropomorphized animals talking about how much life sucks without trees. (We’re picturing two here who are protesting by chaining themselves to a tree.) The environmental tie-in for the campaign—laborious as it is—is that Arbor Day is coming, and if you get and pay your bills online, you’ll help save trees. The spots, which are airing on MySpace and offline youth-targeted media, were created by Mother in New York and directed by David Frankham of Smuggler. The message is all well and fine, but since we can't leave well and fine alone, we’re wondering if Virgin might continue in this vein by helping people learn how to keep their old cell phones, with their toxic and decaying batteries, from ending up in a landfill. Quibble, quibble.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mariah to record ringtones for Pepsi

What?! Mariah Carey is the world’s top-selling female artist? That seems hard to believe. I would have guessed her, or even her. Anyway, Pepsi is tapping in to that power, having signed Carey to write and record 20 original cell phone ringtones through Motorola. What is it about Mariah Carey? Any other singer in the world who made a film as bad as this, had her boyfriend dump her, had a nervous breakdown, then returned years later to have an album go five times platinum would be a hero. But Mariah’s got something intrinsically unlikable about her, despite her impressive vocal range. Maybe because all her songs sound the same and most, I believe, contain the phrase “my baby.” Also because her overtanned body keeps growing, yet her clothes keep shrinking, so she’s starting to look like Lou Ferrigno in The Incredible Hulk. In any case, the promotion starts in May and will coincide with Mariah’s first tour in three years.

—Posted by Celeste Ward

Published on April 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Customize your laptop design with Sharp

We’re not quite nerdy enough to have our laptop spiffed out with the AdFreak logo, but it’s nice to know we could. Sharp is offering customers who order new notebooks a chance to add graphic designs to the lids, courtesy of Laptop Design USA. “Since jewelry was invented thousands of years ago, customization has been a way of life,” Sharp’s marketing director says in one of the sillier press-release quotes we’ve read in some time. Since this initiative involves sprucing up otherwise dull-looking products, it also comes with the requisite and tiresome “Pimp the Laptop” contest and sweepstakes. Link via Dexigner.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3)

If it looks, walks and quacks like a duck …

Let’s hope this doesn’t create a misimpression that the Aflac duck himself is unsexy.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Published on April 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

‘Ooh, nice tool!’ says Planned Parenthood

Here’s a stylish, rock ’n’ roll TV spot for Planned Parenthood Golden Gate in which a young woman really knows how to use the various tools at her disposal. “My father always told me to use the right tool for the right job,” she says. The moment where her blue work shirt flies off is particularly amusing. (For what it’s worth, I was able to stream the video via the “Download it” link rather than the “Stream it” link.) A press release sent out this morning by the American Life League carries the somewhat confused headline, “Planned Parenthood’s TV Commercial Raises the Bar for the Depths of Depravity.” A rep there clarifies: “The ad is beyond disgusting. The entire scenario is wrought with sexual innuendo regarding the connection between power tools and sexual performance.” Yes, but it’s also about using condoms.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (6)

All dressed up and nowhere to go

Fashion ads are all about cool detachment, but in this fashion-spoofing anti-smoking work from Foote Cone & Belding in Singapore, the detachment and the chill are brought on by death itself—which has caught the model shown here in a curious Civil War battlefield-type pose. Other headlines in the series: “Lung cancer doesn’t go with Christian Dior” and “Out: cervical cancer. In: tulle.” The ads send viewers to a Web site, Get Fresh, that has a completely different vibe—sunny and cartoony—and includes chatty blogs by ex-smokers. Via Coloribus.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

What Butler and Shine will do for fresh creative

If you’d like to see Mike Shine and John Butler wearing not very much, or, conversely, some Elvira-goes-platinum get-up and a Superman costume (at right), check out this video to support ihaveanidea’s Portfolio Night IV. The event, in which real live employed agency creative directors look over the work of under- and unemployed agency creative wannabes, is being held on May 4. This year’s night has expanded beyond the Canadian creative community to include events in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hachette’s new magazine may actually feel like a thumb in the eye

In the New York Post this morning, Keith Kelly reports on the upcoming launch of Shock, a new magazine from Hachette Filipacchi Media. Shock will apparently cater to readers whose first viewing of Faces of Death was a major milestone in their adolescence. It’ll focus on weird and disturbing photos—a bloody river after a human attack on dolphins, a thumb jabbed into an eye during a wrestling match, a 5-year-old girl being taken hostage in China with a machete at her throat, etc. “The presentation will have a journalistic bent,” says editor in chief Mike Hammer, apparently declining to say whether that might involve actual journalism. The Web site, ShockU.com, is just embarrassing, showing one truly sad and disturbing image—a Palestinian boy carrying a toy gun during a march of Islamic jihad supporters dressed as suicide bombers—alongside juvenile fake ads for the U.S. Army (“Come on, you little sissy, enlist today! It’ll be just like varsity football!”) and an appetite suppressant called AYDS (“Get AYDS, lose weight!”). If this is what it takes to be a “category buster,” which is what Hachette CEO Jack Kliger predicts Shock will be, then the magazine business is more screwed than we thought.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3)

New Hoosier slogan: ‘Restart your engines’

In the end, the catchy line “Water is to fish as Indiana is to vacations,” suggested by an inspired Indiana resident, may have sounded too much like a verbal SAT question. So, the Indiana Office of Tourism Development has instead chosen ‘Restart your engines’ as the state’s new tourism slogan. The choice would seem to officially elevate motor sports above basketball in the Hoosier state, which may rub some the wrong way, but otherwise the new line seems perfectly harmless. These days, it’s more about avoiding lines that suck, like “Come see for yourself,” “Give in to the desert. You’re surrounded” and “SayWA.”

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wieden puts on gloves for Fight Night

Stumped Vegas oddsmakers are buzzing about who will triumph in the Wieden + Kennedy “Fight Night,” a charity boxing event to be held in the agency’s once-industrial atrium space next Friday, April 28. It’s the brainchild of Caleb Jensen, one of the students in Wieden’s “12” program (the in-house ad school). The ex-University of Nebraska student came up with the idea to benefit the Central Oregon Boxing Club. The card includes underdog 50-year-old Jerry Ketel of Leopold Ketel & Partners against a wildcard from outside the ad industry who outweighs him by 100 pounds. The ladies’ division highlight: Wieden copywriter Margot Stern vs. Alicia Mickes from JCH. “Margot is fighting at 7:20 and has to be on a plane at 9 p.m. that evening for a photoshoot in Vegas,” Jensen says. “It’s actually for a Coke commercial, but we’re playing up the trip.” Possibly the best match, in the 165-pound class, pits James Parker of Sandstrom Design vs. Erik Weeman, a Wieden studio designer. “For a month’s worth of training, both men look good,” Jensen says. Intra-agency contests include Matt Gitchell vs. Patrick Brandimore, both 240 pounders from CMD. “We matched for size and experience, which nobody had, so that part was easy.” Borders Perrin Norrander and McClenahan Bruer are also participating sponsors. Link via AdPulp.

—Posted by Gregory Solman

Published on April 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3)